CHAPTER 5: THE FÜHRER AND THE MEETING

Alright, everyone is seated in their seats. 

“Now that the Führer has arrived, the 304th Imperial Conference will now begin.” 

With a cough, Ayame-san, who was standing next to me, gave the order, and the meeting finally began. 

　……But first, let’s read this stack of documents spread out on the table. 

If someone suddenly asked me some question and I was unable to answerー it was terrifying just to imagine. I don’t want to be treated as incompetent. 

Um, what is it… this document is about the military’s results in the last war. 

It has the details about the battle so far… yeah, it’s the war situation that I know. 

The location where the naval battles took place and how many ships were sunk there. Everything matches the final war in that game. 

As I thought, this country seems to be the Yamato Empire in the game that I know. 

At least for the moment, it is safe to say that knowledge of the game will be useful to some extent. 

And the document over here is about the other world transference? 

Loss of communication with other countries, and abnormal changes in the position of celestial bodies. It is speculated that this may have caused our country to be transferred onto a different planet, isn’t it? 

A table about the status of communication with each country and a detailed, illustrated explanation of how much the starry sky has changed overnight can be found at…yeah, well, let’s pretend that I understand. 

When I finished reading through all the documents, I looked up and found… everyone is looking at me. 

It seems that I have to lead the meeting. 

Hmm, what should I do? In order to prevent people from finding out that I am not Eryutheia herself, I can’t just sit back and be silent. 

First of all, do I need to understand the current situation? 

Our Yamato Empire is an island nation in the middle of the ocean, isolated and with no communication with neighboring nations. I need to do something about this situation. 

There is only one solution to this problem… 

“Navy” 

“Yes, over here” 

There will be none other than the glorious and invincible Imperial Navy. A stern-looking man in a blue navy uniform with a crew cut at the corners replies to my call. 

“I would like to immediately conduct a survey of our country’s perimeter. How many ships are operational?” 

“There are 4 battleships, 6 armored cruisers, 8 protected cruisers, and 24 destroyers that are operational at the moment. In addition, there are about 20 smaller ships and submarines” 

“There aren’t many of them” 

If I remember correctly, there were 12 battleships remaining just before I fell asleep. 

“It was a fierce war, after all. Even the ships that survived without sinking are in need of repair…” 

Hmm, is that so? Indeed, most of the remaining battleships were heavily damaged. 

They are damaged and unable to move immediately. If that’s the case, I have no choice. I will have to wait for the repairs to be finished. 

So, the only ships that could be used for reconnaissance would be the 8 intact protected cruisers?　

Battleships and armored cruisers are not suitable for reconnaissance, and I don’t want to send them too far away from the mainland as they are the key part of the mainland defense in case something were to happen. 

It would be too high of a risk to send even the flagship to do reconnaissance and leave the mainland empty at this time when we don’t know what is going on in this world. 

Destroyers are not suitable for this kind of exploration mission because of their lack of ocean navigation capability and cruising range. 

“The flagship and destroyers are to be reorganized to defend the mainland. Use the remaining protected cruisers to conduct an immediate investigation of the surrounding waters. Any questions?” 

“What should we do with the repaired ship? several new ships are also scheduled to be commissioned, but…” 

“I leave it up to you” 

“Understood. As your excellency has commanded.” 

Okay, this solves the current problem of the survey. Rather, there is probably no other way to break out of this situation. 

Because this country has not even developed an aircraft yet, let alone a surveillance satellite. 

In terms of Earth, the technology is about the same as it was around the time of World War I, right? This was still one of the best technologies within Rasbata. 

So, the next one is… 

“Prime Minister, what is the domestic situation in our country? I think it’s about time we start running out of food…” 

A week in real time, approximately 2 years in game time. The final war lasted for that long. 

And our Yamato Empire is an island nation in the middle of the ocean. The food situation is not that great. 

With a population of 120 million and an area of 400,000 square kilometers, Yamato Island, the mainland, is about the same size as Japan. 

Although preparations were being made for the war, these would not be enough. 

After all, the final war was a war based on the assumption that the service would be terminated a week later in real-time. I don’t think about anything else after that. 

“As far as food is concerned… I thought it might last for another year” 

“In other words, if we can’t secure food from outside sources within a year, then…” 

“There will be people starving to death” 

　……The answer is better than expected because in some cases we could have already had a food crisis. 

However, there is only so much that can be done immediately regarding domestic food issues. 

After all, until just last night, our country was in the midst of the final war, the last world war in Rasbata. 

The country will be under a state of war conditions, and food will be rationed. All areas that can be made into fields should be farmed. 

We need to somehow reduce food consumption… 

“Army” 

“What can I do for you, Führer?” 

The one who answered was a bald, glasses-wearing old man in a khaki-colored army uniform. This old man was the only one not staring at my thighs. 

However, why does it feel like he staring at my chest instead? 

No way, he likes small breasts?… let’s not worry about it. 

“What is the current army size?” 

“About 150 divisions, or about 2 million soldiers. All are on standby to defend the mainland” 

　……Well, yes, I know. 

They were being drafted into the army and forming a massive army for the final war. But at present, this army is only a burden. 

We can’t afford to have a 2 million strong army at a time when food shortages may or may not occur. 

Stop being a soldier and make rice instead. 

“I would like to do a large-scale demobilization. What is the minimum required number of military personnel for the defense of the mainland?” 

“If I had 200,000…” 

Bald glasses make a reluctant face. 

Well, they don’t want to do that because disarmament would reduce the number of army posts. But it has to be done. 

“Well, then demobilized as soon as possible. Also, have the 1st Marine Division on standby” 

“As you command, Your Excellency.” 

The 1st Marine Division, in short, the Marine Corps. 

This unit is used to make an immediate landing in enemy territory… depending on the Navy’s investigations, this unit will be sent immediately. 

Now, the other issue… hmm? some fatty who seems doesn’t understand well is raising his hand. 

“What’s the matter? erm…” 

“This is Ishizawa from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce” 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce… you know, the one that has jurisdiction over industry and that sort of thing. I see. 

“Well, I’m afraid to say this, but our country’s economy is…” 

The fatty hesitates to say it. Was his name Ishiba? yup, I can’t remember it right away. I mean, there was no cabinet or anything like that setting in the game. 

　Also, you don’t have to tell me about the economy. 

Because our empire is a typical industrial and arms-exporting country. The name “nearly the only country of scientific civilization on the chaos server” is not for a show, you know. 

You can’t make a product without a source to import the ingredients, and even if you make a product, you need to have a place to sell it. 

Whether or not we have really moved to another world, it is only logical that our economy is dying in the current situation where we are completely isolated from the neighboring countries. 

However, this cannot be dealt with immediately. 

“Please somehow disguise it with information control. In order to prevent confusion, and issue a gag order, the public should not be told about the otherworldly transfers until the problem is resolved” 

In the meantime, we will have to endure with information control. 

Fortunately, my country is a dictatorship, an Axis of Evil. 

The media is something that can be twisted by the power of the state, and they will use any means to hide the truth that is inconvenient to the state. 

　……However, there is certainly a limit to the amount of time we can keep them hidden. Because information leaks out more easily than you might think. 

No matter what we do, the Navy investigation is still our first priority. 

Did we really transfer to another world, and if so, what kind of world is this? You cannot solve a problem without knowing it. 

That’s why I’m looking forward to it. My proud Imperial Navy. 

Well, that’s about it for the meeting for now, isn’t it? Everyone seems to be in agreement with me. 

I feel like I’ve managed to hide it well. 

Okay, it is safe for the time being. Do you think I have a talent for being a dictator? 

=====

A Little Commentary on “The Only Scientific Civilization” 

The Yamato Empire is nearly the only scientific civilization nation on the Chaos server. 

The reason for this situation is that the game balance was extremely poor in the early years of the service. 

The magical civilization that specializes in the early stages of the game, with powerful magic soldiers available from the relatively early stage, as well as high levels of industrial technology due to its magic. 

While in the early stages of the game, scientific civilization has only poor weapons such as spears and its industrial technology is low, however, after the industrial revolution in the latter half part of the game, its scientific civilization awakens and specializes in the final stages of the game. 

In the beginning, there were only these two civilizations, and furthermore, the magical civilization was so much stronger than the scientific civilization in the early stages of the game that the scientific civilization was destroyed all over the world in the early stages of the game. 

Since then, though the game balance has been improved through updates and other measures, the power structure in the Chaos Server has already been determined, and there is no room for new scientific civilizations to enter, and a few, such as the “Yamato Empire” which survived on an isolated island in the middle of the ocean without being involved in any conflict, continue to exist as a scientific civilized nation.